London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Former Tory chairman Lord Tebbit said insults were a “stupid” way of wooing lost voters.

Ukip leader Nigel Farage hailed Mr Cameron’s words as a surrender to Ukip in the “war of the fruitcake”.

“I think they realise that the Ken Clarke attack put two per cent on our national polling,” he told the Evening Standard.

A ComRes poll put Ukip on 22 per cent in tomorrow’s elections, being held mainly in Tory-dominated areas.

It put the Conservatives on 31 per cent, Labour on 24 and the Lib-Dems trailing on 12.

Some 2,362 seats are up for grabs in 34 county councils and new unitary authorities tomorrow, making it the biggest test of voter’s opinion this year.

Mr Cameron promised action within weeks to stop migrants exploiting the welfare state and NHS.

He made clear he will approve British aid money being used to fund military peacekeeping patrols, saying: “You don’t get development without security.”

George Osborne has formally asked the Bank of England to make sure growth is not held back by the drive for banking stability. The Chancellor set out his views in the remit for the newly created financial policy committee of the Bank. He wrote that its first objective should be financial stability but it should also give “due weight to the impact of its actions on the near-term economic recovery”.